Register for a chance to win tickets to see Richard Thompson at the Straz Center Jan. 21st!
Richard Thompson was born in West London, surrounded by a family with wide musical tastes. Counted among his early influences are Django Reinhardt, Fats Waller, Les Paul, and Jimmy Shand. Flip the coin from his father's jazz record collection to the early rock 'n' roll music made available to him through his elder sister, including Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis' Great Balls of Fire, and the eclectic diversity of his multi-generational career becomes clear.

From his teenage years as a founding member of the pioneering British band Fairport Convention, through the enduring partnership of folk-rock duo Richard and Linda Thompson, to more than 25 years as a solo artist -- Richard Thompson's massive body of work includes 40 albums and numerous film soundtracks. Richard has earned many of the industry's most coveted awards including the Mojo Les Paul Award, the Orville H Gibson Award (guitar) and an Ivor Novello Award (songwriting). His genre-defying mastery of both acoustic and electric guitar, along with his dizzying energy and onstage wit continue to earn Richard Thompson generations of new fans and a place as one of the most distinctive and iconoclastic virtuosos in rock history.